


flowers bloom until they rot (or not)

by colorofmymind



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Bi Gwen (Merlin), Canon Era, F/F, Flowers, Fluff, Getting Together, Good Morgana (Merlin), Gwen is a sweetie and Morgana is smitten, Gwen's bisexuality isn't mentioned but just Know it is there, Lesbian Morgana (Merlin), Tooth-Rotting Fluff, courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28079676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colorofmymind/pseuds/colorofmymind
Summary: Gwen courts Morgana by gifting her flowers. With her powers, Morgana sees no reason to ever let them decay.
Relationships: Gwen/Morgana (Merlin)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 47
Collections: merlinoutofcontext merlinmas holiday fest





	flowers bloom until they rot (or not)

As the king’s ward, Morgana knew no shortage of gifts, tokens, favors meant to elicit her affection. She’d lost count of how many knights had sworn they fought in her name at tournaments, how many lords of the court had presented her with their finest silks from merchants overseas, how many visiting nobles had brought her perfumes to “only make her scent all the more pleasing,” as Prince Harold once told her. 

(She and Gwen had exchanged glances and struggled to restrain their silent laughter, though they hadn’t had to wait long after an unimpressed Uther dismissed the court for the day.)

The artisan dresses always made their way into her closets with all the others, the perfumes and shades of rouge were applied without acknowledging who had gifted them, the delectable desserts and sometimes even wines were distributed back amongst the poor on cold winter nights. Perhaps because Morgana lived such a privileged life for so long, she herself could not appreciate the finery of such things, especially when she knew they all were sent to her with ulterior motives. These men thought they could use their coin and little influence to endear themselves to her or even preferably the king—that way they could gain more coin and more influence. She played her part, accepted the so-called chivalry all with a polite smile, but resolutely would never accept their offers for marriage, or the baser ones to pleasure her in bed. 

There was but one person in all of the five kingdoms who could merely walk into Morgana’s boudoir and bring her incandescent joy, the one person who thought to handpick flowers for Morgana on a delightful spring day. 

Her name was Guinevere. And, likely without even realizing it, she had her mistress’ heart wrapped around her finger. 

“The weather is finally starting to turn,” Gwen said one day while brushing Morgana’s hair with practiced strokes. “I think I might start looking for blossoms outside the citadel.” 

“The last dusting from this year’s snow has barely fallen off the branches,” Morgana contested, but with no heat. “I hate to crush your hopes, Gwen, but I’m not sure you’ll find anything just yet.” 

Morgana noticed Gwen pause in her brushing to flash a brief smile at the mirror so Morgana could see, which she reciprocated kindly. 

“Oh, I don’t know about that. You can never tell when something is meant to bloom.” 

For the last five years, Gwen had put the florists in the lower market to shame with her thoughtful arrangements, offering them for no fee to all her friends and anyone who looked as though they were having a rough day. The tradition from her maid was just another reason among the many others that Morgana was smitten with her. 

While it was not a surprise when Gwen walked into her chambers three weeks later with prim violets dressed up with string, it still sent Morgana’s heart aflutter when they were bestowed upon her with a shy “for you.” 

“How sweet,” she replied, hiding her smile in the petals as she took in their scent. “And how did Merlin like his flowers?” 

“I—I didn’t get Merlin any flowers,” Gwen said, confusion apparent in her voice. 

“Well, I just assumed, with how fond you are of him—”

“Morgana, Merlin is a dear friend, yes, but,” her maid paused, teeth catching on her lower lip. “I thought you might appreciate them more than he would.” 

The revelation was unexpected but not an entirely unwelcome one. 

“In that case, you can tell him he really is the fool Arthur says he is if he hasn’t tried courting you yet. You would make a most lovely suitor,” Morgana confessed softly, hoping the longing did not seep into her tone. 

Every week since, Gwen brought her flowers, each more exquisitely picked out than the last. White lilies, daisies, red carnations, honeysuckles joined the violets in decorating her rooms so much so it could be mistaken for a garden. 

“I can stop bringing them if it’s too overwhelming,” Gwen told her one day as they left her chambers for the market. “I just thought some of them would’ve wilted by now, at least the violets!”

Normally, they would have, but Morgana discovered this year she had magic. And, despite the total irrationality in it all, she could not let Gwen’s flowers decay when she had the power to preserve them. 

By the eighth week, the aromatic fragrance suffused her quarters, from the chairs to the sheets to her own hair. She was living in a garden of Gwen’s and her making. 

“I really don’t understand it, as beautiful as it is,” Gwen admitted bemusedly as she disrobed Morgana for the night. 

“Perhaps they just came from a love that never dies.” 

Gwen stilled in her movements as Morgana stood exposed, both in her nightdress and with her feelings. It wasn’t the true explanation, she knew Gwen wasn’t stupid enough to buy that, but it was enough of the truth. 

For once, the aroma of rose and wildflowers diminished in the favor of Gwen’s scent—herbs and fine-tuned metal—when Gwen spun Morgana around to kiss her desperately. 

That night, twice the number of flowers in the rooms bloomed and spilled out of her windows when Gwen deflowered her. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a wonderful merlin discord server's 24 hour prompt challenge MerlinMas for the prompt of two sweet lovebirds. The idea is for it to be under 1k, which is why it's so short (at least by my standards anyways). I hope you enjoyed, and I always appreciate kudos and comments! The fic title was inspired by Hadestown.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] flowers bloom until they rot (or not)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28824063) by [fire_ash_rebirth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fire_ash_rebirth/pseuds/fire_ash_rebirth)




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